Hochschwab Mountains

Moderate avalanche danger - increasingly frequent wet-snow avalanches due to rain seepage

Moderate avalanche danger - increasingly frequent wet-snow avalanches due to rain seepage

Moderate avalanche danger prevails. Above the treeline freshly generated snowdrift accumulations, particularly at entries into steep gullies and bowls can be triggered, often by minimum additional loading. Due to daytime warmth, increasingly frequent naturally triggered wet-snow avalanches can be expected in steep terrain in all aspects.

The old snowpack is generally stable and has a melt-freeze crust on the surface. Westerly winds have formed fresh, trigger-sensitive snowdrift patches. Also, the daytime warmth is made bonding between fresh fallen snow of last week and the snowpack fundament weaker. With the rainfall, a gliding layer of melt-freeze snow will form on the melt-freeze encrusted old snowpack surface beneath the fresh fallen snow from last week.

As a result of a nighttime perturbance, intermediate altitude clouds will pass through, the peaks will remain free and it will stay dry. A moderate (in the Northern Alps, brisk) westerly wind will be blowing. It is becoming milder: at 2000 m, -2 degrees at midday.

In Totes Gebirge, Niedere Tauern and Dachstein region on Wednesday, heavy convective cloud build-up starting at midday, only isolated rain showers are anticipated. Temperatures will rise measurably at all altitudes. The snowpack will settle further.